by Melanie Stauble, photography by Michael Becker
In a small city like Lambertville, access to a reliable, friendly wine and spirits shop with a wide selection is a game changer. It’s the place that you rely on the day of your holiday party when you realize no one stocked up on your father-in-law’s favor spirit. The staff that always steers you in the right direction to pick a wine to pair with dinner. The shop that makes your night by stocking the latest craft beer release.
Walker’s Wine and Spirits has been a Lambertville staple since 1946. The store was first established by Vic and Pat Walker who kept it running until 1989 when it was bought by three local professionals. Phil and Pat Faherty, Michael Vorhees and Diana Meskill, teamed up to buy the store from Pat Walker in May of 1989. Phil Faherty then became the general manager of the store and worked to learn the wine and spirits trade by career professional, Sam Miller. Sam had many years experience in the wine and spirit trade and was an integral part in the early success of Walker’s.
Over the years, the store has hired managers in their three segments of specialties. Phil Faherty IV is the wine manager, Mark Vorhees is the spirits manager and Sean Walker (no relation to the original owners) is the beer manager. These three men have combined their years of experience and knowledge to enhancing their skills and bringing in the best wine, spirits and beers for the Lambertville community. In addition to the managers, there is also a team of eight part time employee staff members who have a tremendous amount of knowledge and work to give customers a personal experience.
The wine and spirits business is about waiting for customers to ask for your input. The Walker’s team knows this well. Many of their customers come in and know what they want, however when they need advice, the Walker’s team is ready and willing to help them out and give them a personalized and fact filled experience about all of the different brands and specialties they carry.
Walker’s has a very extensive wine and spirit section. They carry all different types of wines ranging from domestic to international, table to luxury and costing anywhere from $5.99 to several hundred dollars to meet anyone’s needs. While Thanksgiving is the biggest wine season, the upcoming Christmas holiday will bring a spread of beer, wine and spirits purchases from their customers. In the spirits section, the Walker’s team has found a popularity spike in bourbon whiskey purchases. At this time it is the trend in the spirits world and they are happy to share different varieties and point their customers in the right direction when choosing the best bourbon for them. 
On the beer side of things, Walker’s carries the traditional domestic brands and popular imports as well as craft beers, seasonal and hard to find imports. They are always rotating their selection so customers will be able to find something new upon every visit.
December will bring two fun tasting events at Walker’s. On December 11 they will have a spirits tasting featuring a new vodka called CD. They will have four different flavors poured for customers tasting pleasure. On the 18th of December, Walker’s will be hosting a wine tasting on the floor, the wine has not been chosen as of yet but it will be sure to delight customers taste buds.
Every day Walker’s features specials on their floor at a discounted price. They also maintain specials throughout the year. One case is 15% off mix and match bottles, two cases and above are 20% off mix and match all year, every day including Sundays when they have their six bottle discount at 10% off. During the holiday season, Walker’s will have premade gift baskets available for customers as well as the opportunity to make custom baskets upon guests request.
For a small town store, Walker’s Wine and Spirits carries a huge selection and are able to give their personal attention and knowledge to satisfy the needs of their customers. Walker’s is open seven days a week, Monday-Saturday 9:00am- 9:30pm and Sundays from 10:00am- 8:00pm. Stop in Lambertville and make sure to check out Walker’s Wine and Spirits and all they have to offer!
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